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The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami damaged a number of buildings in many Asian countries. The research objective of this paper is to determine the significant predictor variables and the direction of their relationships regarding the building damage level. This quantitative study used data collected by Murao and Nakazato ['Recovery curves for housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami,' J. Earthquake Tsunami 4(2), 51-60; 'Vulnerability functions for buildings based on damage survey data in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami,' Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Sustainable Built Environment, Kandy, Sri Lanka, pp. 371-378] in Sri Lanka for analysis via the statistical approach. The tested explanatory parameters included the inundation depth, the structural materials, and the areas. This research is among the first pioneering efforts in applying the statistical analysis to investigate the influential parameters in tsunami damage areas. This work can contribute to the damage analysis research area in terms of providing the proved parameters as well as contributing to the practical understanding of urban planners, engineers, and related persons who are involved in building construction and disaster management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]